Renewable Energy World Interviews Dino Barajas on Funding Solar Projects in Latin America

Akin Gump global project finance partner Dino Barajas was the subject of a video interview by Renewable Energy World on funding solar energy projects in Latin America.

Barajas began by noting that Latin America, “rather than being a monolithic jurisdiction, is very specific, depending on where you’re trying to develop your project.”  He indicated that Latin America is a “lightning rod” for investment in the Americas, given the challenges that renewable energy project developers are facing in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Canada, saying that “Latin America and the Caribbean right now are getting a lot of attention across the sector, whether it’s a developer play, a private equity play or lenders becoming more interested in markets they haven’t looked at before.”  He tightened his focus by saying that, within Latin America, the most active markets have been Mexico, Chile and different jurisdictions within Central America.

Barajas noted that the biggest difference between the renewable energy markets in the United States and in Latin America and the Caribbean is that, in the United States, the market is tax-driven, whereas, in Latin America, governments have allowed renewable and other technologies within the generation portfolio to compete “head to head” and have not introduced tax incentives as a way to attract developers into their market.

Barajas also discussed in detail interesting aspects of the Mexican energy market, including announced energy sector reforms, postage stamp wheeling and energy banking.

To view the full interview, please click here.